Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is just always tough for me these days. You too? If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.  

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Hoops errors.

Green group hint: Get the mic.

Blue group hint: Tennis triumphs.

Purple group hint: A note to follow so.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Basketball violations.

Green group: Roles on a broadcast team.

Blue group: Last four US Open women’s singles winners.

Purple group: Preceded by «LA.»

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is basketball violations. The four answers are backcourt, double-dribble, goaltend and travel.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is roles on a broadcast team. The four answers are color, play-by-play, sideline and studio.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is last four US Open women’s singles winners. The four answers are Gauff, Raducanu, Sabalenka and Swiatek.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is preceded by «LA.» The four answers are Clippers, Coliseum, Galaxy and Liga.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword wasn’t too tough, especially for SpongeBob fans. But if you’d like some help with the answers, read on.. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: SpongeBob’s boss, for one
Answer: CRAB

5A clue: I.R.S. agent’s investigation
Answer: AUDIT

7A clue: Something you haven’t been able to do on U.S. flights since 2000
Answer: SMOKE

8A clue: Peninsula east of the Yellow Sea
Answer: KOREA

9A clue: One «R» in R&R
Answer: REST

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Barrel-shaped wine container
Answer: CASK

2D clue: Something heard through the grapevine
Answer: RUMOR

3D clue: Profoundly love
Answer: ADORE

4D clue: Vehicles in a peloton
Answer: BIKES

6D clue: What a calf drinks from
Answer: TEAT

Primary shipping services, including the European branch of DHL, multiple European state postal services, Australia Post, Japan Post and Taiwan’s state postal service, have stopped shipping consumer goods of varying amounts (over $100 in some cases) to the US. The pause is currently expected to be temporary as countries respond to the latest US tariff measures, but could have a significant impact on US businesses selling anything from Taiwanese GPUs and Japanese card packs to European electronics. 

The response stems from tariff actions related to the «de minimis» trade option, which allows the US to select certain business-friendly goods to be duty-free when shipped into the United States. 

In July, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that appeared to ban the use of this de minimis option. Postal companies have paused services for the time being, reporting that they aren’t sure how the specifics of the order affect them and did not have time to respond. As the additional tariffs go into effect, shipping companies say to expect downtime as they seek to understand the rules and retool their shipping processes. 

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Major shipping companies from other countries, including India, have said they will follow suit soon.

While the details and timeframe are currently unknown, it’s likely that if shipping from these countries resumes, it will be at significantly higher duties and related taxes, which US businesses may pass down to consumers as higher retail prices. Until then, several overseas sellers are expected to stop taking orders from US buyers altogether. 

Read more: Tech Tariff Anxiety Is Still High. CNET Survey Finds 64% of Shoppers Are Rushing to Buy Tech to Dodge Price Spikes and Shortages

Can people still send packages to the US?

Small consumer-oriented packages can still be sent through most services, depending on the specific value and related rules that shipping companies currently have. For example, if someone is trying to send a personal gift during this time, it shouldn’t be affected.

However, businesses that trade in international goods — including online shops on eBay and Etsy —  currently have little recourse except to rely on current stock, find other suppliers or wait for the situation to be resolved. That’s an unfortunate situation ahead of big Labor Day sales.